PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Erick was an awesome tour guide, very friendly and knowledgeable on all wildlife matters
I chose the 4 day safari which included visiting the Serengeti for two days, the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangeri National Park. I had an amazing experience in all those parks. Erick was able to find the best places to see the animals we wanted and we would usually be the first ones to arrive at any sighting, which made for better pictures. Above all that he would answer any questions we had, not only about the animals, but also the vegetation in the parks. It was clear to us that he knew what he was taking about, but even the times he had any doubt he would do his research and get back to us with the answer. Overall everyone had a great time and I would definitely book another safari with him
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mind blowing
Mind blowing awesome experience got to see a lot of wild animals up close, highly recommend a visit to the Masai Mara.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An unforgettable trip
There are not enough words to describe my trip to Uganda but I can sum it up in UNFORGETTABLE, INCREDIBLE and PERFECT.
I chose the Gorilla Bookings travel agency because of the good references I found on Tripadvisor and all the excellent opinions are deserved.
I recommend this agency 100% because everything we requested was fulfilled. They adapt your trip to your tastes and make you live an unforgettable experience. Seeing gorillas and chimpanzees is SPECTACULAR but Uganda has a thousand beautiful things to visit.
I traveled with a friend for 3 weeks and we have fallen in love with Uganda and it has all been thanks to Gorilla Booking and Allan, the guide who accompanied us on this adventure. He is a FANTASTIC guide who shows you his country with a love that makes you end up loving him too. If you travel to Uganda do not hesitate to contact this agency and request that Allan be your guide because he is a great professional and a great guy !!!! THANK YOU :)
(automatic translation from Spanish)
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Budget should not mean poor quality....
We read many reviews of various companies and chose Karibu because they seemed to offer a very professional service, they guaranteed maximum 6 people maximum per van (so everyone has a window seat) and apparently had good guides (so many reviews said the driver/guides were excellent!). We chose a 7 day safari to Maasai Marai, Lake Naivasha, Hell’s Gate, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. Unfortunately, we were somewhat disappointed.
Booking, communication with Robert, payment and initial pick-up all went smoothly! Yay! But then…things started taking a downward turn…first, we were told that the planned itinerary was changing because we had 4 people joining us later…no worries. This change ultimately meant we spent more time in the car (so less time doing activities) and almost 2 hours waiting for the people to join. During that first day’s amended agenda, we went to Hell’s Gate park. Our driver/guide Castro kept telling us we needed to rent bikes and that he could not drive in the park…he pretty much dropped us off to negotiate bike prices on our own, it was a rather uncomfortable situation (which quite honestly should have pre-arranged or the negotiating done by him…the guide). Being new to Kenya we had no idea what would have been a reasonable price. Anyhow, we took bikes and rode into the park with a different guide who was assigned to us without any previous explanation. We did love the experience of riding the bikes, but it became obvious that our driver had not been fully honest with us as there were many groups driving through the park and disembarking for photo opportunities. Let’s just say that this first bit of “dishonesty” did not set us up for a relationship of confidence with our guide. Many little things like this kept happening along the way and it just made us uncomfortable and even frustrated at times. In fact, on more than one occasion, so-called “optional” activities were assigned to us without choice nor with any prior information and then the person providing that activity would expect some sort of extra payment, which we were never made aware of before.
That first night we were driven to a hotel that was not in the planning that was sent to us by Robert and when we asked about it, Castro said that the other hotel had called him to say they were fully booked and that we should go to this one. Again…seemed strange but, whatever, we went with the flow. A similar thing happened to us in Maasai Mara when we arrived at a different camp than what was on the planning. Since there were now 6 in our group at this point, everyone questioned the situation and Castro just seemed annoyed with us. He did not exhibit any sort of patience and eventually, in a huff, drove us off to the other camp at which apparently no reservation had been made and we were again put in an uncomfortable situation….we were told by the camp staff that the only tents available were “luxury” tents and that we would have to pay extra. Of course we refused, and after waiting for about 20 minutes…we were all assigned regular tents, although one couple (newlyweds) had to sleep in separate single beds. Just another awkward strange situation. Something similar again happened when we arrived at our assigned camp in Amboseli. Upon arrival, we were told that the reservation for our group had never been confirmed so that they did not really have the correct number of tents for us. So as a group, we ensured the newlyweds had the best accommodation, but that meant that the other two couples ended up with subpar, lower quality rooms (not tents) for their stay there. Don’t get me wrong, the staff at this camp were outstanding and they really did everything they could to make us comfortable (thank you Henry), the problem here lies with Karibu.
We did fully enjoy the game drives though and I must say, Castro was an excellent driver. He got us close to the animals and did everything possible to find them. That being said, he was really not a good guide. I realize this was a budget safari but basic guiding is not hard to provide (having worked in the tourism industry I feel I am well placed to say so). Simple basic information about the animals, people and places would have been appreciated. Common courtesies such as saying “Good morning, how are you?’’ or smiling on occasion do not cost the company or the guide any more and they make a big difference in the client’s experience. On some days Castro barely spoke to us and getting simple information about our day’s itinerary was at times like pulling teeth. We had to ask for water on many occasions and it felt like it was an inconvenience for Castro to give it to us, when it was supposed to be provided. Some days we got a small bottle each, some days we didn’t even get any. On one day, when we mentioned this, we got a snarky response from Castro of “well…did you ask for it?’’. Unfortunately, his attitude made us feel unwelcome and more of a burden to him than anything. We eventually all just pretty much stopped asking questions and tried to enjoy our game drives as much as possible.
There are probably another half dozen situations I could describe here that made our experience much less enjoyable than it could have been (not to mention the vehicle break-down which ended up having us wait for 5 hours for a replacement vehicle….these things happen of course, but it was the poor communication of it all and the lack of apology or any sense of compassion that made it a bad situation or the fact that there ended up being 7 of us in the van and we had to argue to ensure we remained at 6) , but I will limit myself to these.
Again, we saw some amazing animals. The game drives were excellent. But the guiding, organization and communication were very disappointing and quite below even a budget safari standards.
I would think twice before booking with Karibu.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Wife and I we booked our safari to Tanzania with Great Image Expedition in August this year. The
My Wife and I we booked our safari to Tanzania with Great Image Expedition in August this year. The experience was so amazing, our guide Raymond he is the best guide ever. We saw all big five animals and we are real enjoy our holiday in Tanzania.
Highly recommend Great Image for your Tanzania Holidays.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Enjoyed my trip with Gorilla Bookings
In a nutshell: In my experience, Gorilla Bookings is trustworthy and provides good values for money. I enjoyed my trip a lot!
Extended version: Went on a solo trip for 5 days to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (gorilla tracking) and Lake Bunyonyi in September 2022. Sylvia and Justus of Gorilla Bookings always responded quickly and tailored the journey to my needs. Everything turned out as they said it would.
I have come to know Eli as a careful driver and great travel companion. He made me feel safe and comfortable. He also provided an internet hotspot whenever necessary.
I stayed two nights at Ruhija Gorilla Friends Resort and two nights at Bunyonyi View Resort. Both accomodations were rather basic and had wifi issues. If you are looking for a more luxury accomodation, it is probably a good idea to let Gorilla Bookings know in advance.
The gorillas roam freely, so the length of the gorilla hike can vary significantly. We walked for about an hour, then saw them up close - amazing!! The terrain can be steep, and I did not regret hiring a porter for the backpack.
At Bwindi, I took the opportunity to go on a community hike with a guide called Happy and a nature hike with a guide named Alan. Those additional activities were not included in Gorilla Booking‘s offer. I would recommend them, though. Each walk took about three hours.
Included in my trip was a two hour boat tour on Lake Bunyonyi. I wanted to extend that tour significantly, and Gorilla Bookings made it possible at an extra charge. The guide named Justus knew his way around the lake very well and provided tons of interesting information. He tailored the tour to my preferences, including visiting two islands, hiking to a viewpoint and some extended birdwatching.
Thanks a lot for the amazing trip! : )
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great service. Always willing to help.
Thank you Geofrey. Great service. Looking forward to a long working relationship.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very patient and willing to satisfy us
We were really happy of the price and our guide was awesome : he could speak and understand english very well, always answering to our questions and mainly he knew where to go to see animals so we have seen the big 5 :) even leopard the 1st day!
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personal, professional and passionate!
If you're looking for a safari where you don't feel like a number, where the people really look for the ultimate safari experience with passion and drive and take into account all your wishes and possibilities, then choose J'adore. Koen loves his job and you can feel that. On safari itself we were in the expert hands of Anwar and besides being a great guide and walking encyclopedia of the fauna and flora in the national parks, he is also just very pleasant company. He also constantly involved our children aged 14 and 16 and we laughed a lot together. When you spend so much time together, it is very nice to have a connection with each other! And if you do get involved with J'Adore, be sure to stay with Koen and Katja! They are incredibly hospitable and Katja is a princess in the kitchen. She will do nothing more than spoil you with her cooking skills!
LB
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
unforgettable experience
Simply very professional and flexible.
The coordination with Paul by emails before arriving to Tanzania was very easy and efficient.
A trip very well spent by time and money.
I highly recommend Tanzania roadside expedition.